


Musings of a South Downs Village Vet

by ranguvar82



Series: Silence and Strength [11]
Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: Crowley is a Protective Cat Daddy, Gen, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22940197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ranguvar82/pseuds/ranguvar82
Summary: Maud Hopkirk, Country Village Vet, has seen it all. Or so she thinks.
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Series: Silence and Strength [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1630903
Comments: 8
Kudos: 213
Collections: Ineffable Cats





	Musings of a South Downs Village Vet

Musings of a South Downs Village Vet

Ever since she was little, Maud Hopkirk wanted only one thing. To be a veterinarian. She loved animals of all shapes and sizes, and growing up on the family farm she had a veritable menagerie. At one point she had three hedgehogs, two sparrows, fifteen rabbits, twelve chickens, and one shaggy pony. Her father and mother encouraged her love of animals(they themselves had twelve dogs and ten cats between them).

As she grew older and animals came and went, she retained her dream of vet school. No one was more proud and thrilled(except maybe Maud’s parents) when she received the acceptance letter. Vet school was hard work, but it was very rewarding, and Maud graduated with high honors. She fielded several offers from big city animal hospitals, but ultimately decided that what she truly wanted was to open a practice in her hometown.

Now, five years later, she was firmly established in town, and she was pretty certain she had seen it all. She had birthed calves, foals, and kids. She had removed various objects from the stomachs of dogs, cats, rabbits, and ferrets. She had been bit, kicked, gored, scratched, and clawed.

Maud was pretty certain that nothing could ever surprise her. Until the day that Mx. Crowley and Mr. Fell walked(well, in Crowley’s case it was more a saunter) into her office, a tuxedo cat draped placidly over Mx. Crowley’s shoulders.

Maud knew that cat. She still had the scars from where it had nearly torn her hand off when she examined it after it had been rescued from Fred Gordon’s house. That cat had suffered one of the worst cases of abuse she had ever seen, and it was nearly feral as a result. She had finally had to bust out the heavy gloves, and even still that demon cat had yowled and struggled. An exam that would normally have taken Maud ten minutes to complete took nearly two hours, and she had to get her assistants to help hold the cat. All three had breathed a sigh of relief when the cat was finally in the carrier ready for transport to the shelter.

Mr. Fell walked up to the counter, giving her a beaming, sunny grin. “Hello. We received an electronic mail from this office saying it was time for Treble’s check up?”

Maud gaped. “Uhh...yes! Umm...Mr. Fell, if you would just fill out some papers, and I’ll take...Treble, was it?” A nod from Mx. Crowley. “I’ll take Treble back in just a second.” Mr. Fell smiled, but Mx. Crowley looked downright suspicious. “Just...need to get an exam room ready. Won’t take a moment!”

Maud ran into the back room where her assistants, John and Alice, were sitting. “You two have got to come see this!” Curious, they followed her. Maud pointed. “Tell me if that cat on Mx. Crowley’s shoulders looks familiar.”

John peered. “It..no way! That can’t be him!”

“Bleeding ‘eck, how come Mx. Crowley ain’t covered in scratches?” Alice interjected. Maud started to point out that actually, they were covered in scratches, but stopped. The scratches on Mx. Crowley could more properly be called scars, and they didn’t match any animal she’d ever known. The closest she could come to was maybe they had tangled with several lions. Or possibly fallen into a pit of knives. She watched as they reached up and stroked the cat(Treble, what an odd yet adorable name) under the chin, at the same time leaning into Mr. Fell.

“Dr. Hopkirk?” Mr. Fell called, and Maud came out of the back, smiling. “All filled out.” He passed the paperwork over.

_Name of Patient: Treble Kitty_

_Age: 3, I believe._

_Breed: Tuxedo_

_Owner(s) Name(s): Aziraphale, aka Ezra Fell, aka Soft Daddy_

_Crowley, aka Anthony/Antonia, aka Quiet Daddy or Snake Daddy_ (‘Snake Daddy?’ thought Maud)

_Occupation(s): Retired (and in a different hand: ON OUR OWN SIDE)_

_Reason for Visit: Electronic Mail(E-mail, Angel, it’s called email)_

Maud filed away the paperwork. “Well, now that everything is in order, I’ll take him back with me.” Mx. Crowley grimaced, then turned to Mr. Fell and made a very complicated hand motion.

“Dr, would it be at all remiss if perhaps my partner came with you? They would feel much more comfortable.”

“Well, it is a bit unusual, but why not.” Crowley beamed, and Maud led them back to the exam room. Alice and John were there, gaping. “Now, um...Crowley, was it?” A nod. “If you could put Treble down on the table. You can still hold onto him.” Frowning, Crowley gently set Treble down, their hands stroking his back. Maud’s eyes widened at the sound of purring. “Well. Now, this exam is very noninvasive. It won’t hurt him a bit. If you like, I could talk you through everything I’m doing, okay?”

Crowley still looked uncertain. Maud smiled. “Alice, would you ask Mr. Fell to come back here?”

“Yeah.” She left the room, returning in with Mr. Fell.

“Everything okay, Dr?”

“Yes, but I think perhaps your partner could use some support.” Mr. Fell nodded in understanding, then gently turned Crowley to face him.

“Love, we talked about this last night. You know that nothing is going to happen to Treble. Dr. Hopkirk is a good woman and very good at her job. Now, I know you worry about him. I do too. But look how far he’s come.” Crowley gulped, then moved his hands in a series of motions. Mr. Fell sighed. “And I told you, that is a discussion for another time. It is not a decision to make lightly, my dem...my dear. Treble needs to know fully what he’s getting into, and it will be his choice.” More gesturing. “We were made for it, my Star Maker. Treble, for all he’s starting to acquire your traits, was not. So let the doctor examine him. Please?” A reluctant nod. “Excellent.”

Blinking a bit at the rather bizarre conversation she had just heard, Maud began the exam. It went infinitely better than the last one had, and she pronounced Treble perfectly healthy. After Mr. Fell had paid and set up the next appointment and the two had left, Maud went into the back and sank into a chair.

‘ _That’,_ she thought, _‘is definitely one for the books.’_


End file.
